My Big Brother is the Flash
by Gwenneth
Summary: Wally can't understand why Barry doesn't seem to like him. He is never around when he comes over and he doesn't spend time with him. Wally had always wanted a brother - but Barry wasn't shaping up to be much of one. Wally finds out why.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own them - this is just for fun. Blah blah.**_

 _ **Summary: Wally can't understand why Barry doesn't seem to like him. He is never around when he comes over and he doesn't spend time with him. Wally had always wanted a brother - but Barry wasn't shaping up to be much of one. Wally finds out why.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Wally remembered the night of the stack attack challenge and Sharkman-in-pants. He had been so disappointed in Barry for hiding upstairs until the danger was gone. Why hadn't his brother done more to protect his family? Surely he was stronger than Iris, at least physically. And he worked with the police. So what was the other man's problem?

That was why he had said something. In his mind, if you ran from danger and left those you claim to love behind to face it - you were a coward. So he'd said so. But he had been quite surprised by the way his words angered Joe and Iris. Didn't they appreciate how much he cared for them? How _he_ hadn't hid away?

Then Joe had told him about Barry's parents and he'd felt a little less sure of himself on the subject of brother Barry. Maybe the other man had a reason for his aloofness. Still, Wally wasn't about to let his new family do anything other than completely accept him - Barry and all. Even if he had to drag him kicking and screaming. Barry wouldn't be able to run away from this any longer.

It was time to talk.

"Hey, it's Wally, can I come over tonight?"

Joe's voice sounded over the phone. "Sure! It's pizza night, bring your appetite!"

Wally nodded, even though Joe couldn't see it. "Will Barry be there?"

There was a pause and then a cautious tone. "Yeh, he will be. That's not a problem is it? We talked about this..."

"No, no problem," Wally quickly interjected. "I actually owe him an apology. I'll see you guys around 7?"

"Sounds good!"

Wally pressed the red part of his cell screen and disconnected the call. Tonight, he'd get to the bottom of why Barry was so standoffish around him. And he wouldn't be leaving until he did.

* * *

 _At the West home that night_

Barry was sitting on the couch, long legs tucked up to the side, staring at the fireplace and the flames flickering inside of it. So much had happened since his return from Earth 2. And now, he found himself doing _this_ a lot. Staring off into the distance and just _thinking_. Thinking wasn't such a good thing, these days, because he kept thinking of Joe West of Earth 2 drawing his last pained breath. Kept hearing the hitching sobs of Earth 2 Iris at his bedside.

And he kept thinking of the man in the mask - who he had promised to return to save and now had no way to keep that promise, what with the breaches all closed and the fact they could never be reopened.

Though Barry _could_ go back in time to when they were...

But he still couldn't defeat Zoom, so what would that accomplish? More friends dying?

He sighed and turned as the door opened behind him to reveal Wally West, a bag of two-liter bottles of soda in one hand and pizzas balanced on his other. Apparently he had intercepted the delivery guy on the front path. Barry jumped to take the pizzas before Wally lost his grip on them.

"Hey Wally," he said, trying to wallow up from the depths of his thoughts and paste on a smile. He knew he hadn't been fair to Wally since the young man had come into their lives. He hadn't spared a moment to get to know him. The truth is he didn't know what to say or how to act. Wally didn't know about his other life, which made opening up to him kind of difficult. He couldn't just say, "Yeh, man, about that night - I disappeared because I ran superspeed out of the house to confront King Shark as the Flash."

As much as he wanted to have a brother, he just didn't know how to do it. Wally seemed to have already formed a negative opinion of him. And Barry couldn't blame him. He hadn't exactly been warm and welcoming.

"Hey Barry," the younger man said, waiting for the older to move toward the kitchen. Wally didn't say anything snide, or otherwise react to Barry's interior monologue and long pause in the doorway. At least that was something.

"Right, sorry, lost myself for a second there," Barry said, turning heel and hurrying off toward the dining room table as Joe and Iris emerged from the kitchen to greet Wally. The latter smiled fondly at them and joined them in the dining room, depositing the soda bottles on the table while Barry fetched red cups from the kitchen.

"How was your day? Got any word about the engineering program yet?" Joe asked, sitting down at the head of the table and flipping open a pizza box. Wally took the seat to his right, and Barry to his left. Iris slipped into the seat beside Barry.

For a few minutes, there was only small talk and chewing. Wally kept throwing glances at Barry, when the latter wasn't looking, and Iris and Joe kept glancing at Wally when he was looking at Barry. The round and round glancing was getting kind of heavy and it was only a matter of time before Barry noticed.

"All right, what is going on?" He finally said, slapping a piece of pizza crust down on his plate and leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. Wally bit his lip but knew it was now or never.

"I owe you an apology, Barry," the younger man said. "What I said the other day, about you being a coward. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sure you had your reasons and it wasn't right of me to assume it was cowardice."

As far as apologies go - it was basic and bland. At least that's how it felt to Barry. Wally had apologized for calling him a coward, but he hadn't actually taken back the sentiment, just skirted around it. He knew the younger man still thought he was a coward.

"It's fine," Barry said, gesturing with his hand. "It doesn't matter."

Wally shook his head. "It does, though," he said. Barry sensed more sentiment in this dialog and it drew his attention. "We're family now, and I don't know what made us get off on the wrong foot - but we did. And I want to fix it. I don't like this awkwardness. I've always wanted a brother, and now that I _have_ one, I still don't feel like I _do_."

Joe and Iris glanced between the two, unsure how or if they could help.

Barry was just as unsure. "I ... don't know," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I've been distant. I've just been going through some ... things." He looked at Joe. He tried to beg his surrogate father for a little help with this, but Joe wasn't offering anything. He cast his glance to his side, to Iris. She was also looking at Joe.

"No."

"Dad," Iris began.

" _No_."

Barry looked between the two. He knew what Iris wanted. To tell Wally. And Barry kind of wanted to as well. "Why not?"

Joe frowned and sat up straighter. "It's too dangerous."

Barry huffed. "It's dangerous whether he knows or not," the younger man said.

Wally was silently watching the exchange in confusion. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid you guys lost me. What's too dangerous? And why can't I be the judge of what's too dangerous for me?"

With a scrape of chair, Joe pushed away from the table. "We're not talking about this," he said. "I said no and I'm not going to change my mind."

Iris followed him, leaving Barry and Wally sitting awkwardly together at the dining room table. Barry lifted his eyes and met Wally's. "I can't go against Joe's wishes," he said quietly. "I understand why he feels the way he does. And I respect that. But just because he shot me and Iris down about ... it ... doesn't mean we can't try again to get along."

Wally smiled. "I'd like that."

"Great," Barry said. "So, I think I owe you a stack attack challenge..."

* * *

 ** _A/N: Up next - Iris and Joe talk. And then the decision to tell Wally is taken out of everyone's hands ..._**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, etc._

 _A/N: Enjoy! Thanks to those who left reviews! They always make me update faster._

* * *

 _In the West kitchen ..._

"Dad ..."

" _No_ , Iris," Joe said, leaning on the counter and facing away from her out into the darkness of the summer night. "I am not going to change my mind. It's bad enough two of my kids are in near-constant danger - I'm not ready to add the third into the mix."

Iris sighed. "I understand, Dad," she said. "But this isn't something we should hide from Wally. You know how much it hurt _me_ when you, Barry and Eddie hid the Flash from me. And how, even when I didn't know who he was, I was still in the thick of things."

Joe turned now. "I know you were," he said, "but that was because of your blog, Iris. If you hadn't been blogging about the Flash, using your real identity, I doubt anyone would have connected you to him and come after you."

The minute he said the words, he realized how Iris might take them. And he was right. " _Exactly_ ," she said. "Wally won't be blogging about the Flash. He wouldn't be connected to him publicly in _any_ way. So why do you think it would be dangerous to tell him?"

Joe wiped his hand across this face. "Maybe not because of the public's knowledge, Iris, but more because of Wally's personality. I don't see him wanting to just sit idly by when he finds out his brother is a superhero, his father is a cop who helps him, and his sister is an intrepid journalist who sticks her neck out whenever she sees a worthwhile story."

Iris frowned. "That's true, Dad," she said. "But I still think we'll lose Wally entirely if we don't tell him. Because he _will_ find out someday - and when he does, if it's not from us, he is going to be destroyed."

Joe swallowed. "I know."

Neither knew what to do.

* * *

 _In the dining room ..._

Wally leaned back with a laugh. "OK, so Iris and Joe weren't kidding, you are _mad fast_ , Barry," he said. "I'll have to get in some practice if I want to beat you at stack attack. That was impressive."

 _You have no idea_ , the other young man thought to himself. _I wonder how he would react if I did that at superspeed. Or if I were to tell him that it was harder to go slow than it was to go that fast._

"Thanks, Wally," he said. "It took me years to get this good. But you were right on my heels, I might have to worry about my title."

The young men smiled as they restacked the cups into a normal pile and slid them across the table. Then the silence descended again - and with it the awkwardness. Barry sighed as he shifted in his chair.

"So yeh," Wally said. "I guess ... maybe we should see what Joe and Iris are doing? They've been gone a while."

Barry shook his head. "It looked like Iris had it in her mind to change Joe's ... mind ... and that never ends well," he said quickly, not wanting Wally to walk in to a conversation about the Flash. "If I were you, I'd stay well clear of those talks. I learned the hard way - they'll both want you on their side and will give you stink eyes when you hesitate."

The younger man wrinkled his nose, but didn't move to stand.

Silence fell again.

Barry made to restart the conversation with something about engineering, but his phone rang from the nearby table and he stood to see who it was.

Only it wasn't an actual ring - it was an emergency distress beacon from Caitlin. Followed immediately by one from Cisco. And another from Harry. Something must be going down at S.T.A.R. Labs and Barry knew if he was getting three emergency beacons at once - he needed to be there five minutes ago!

"Joe!" He called. "Emergency! I have to _run_!"

The way he said run drew Joe and Iris out of the kitchen. Wally just looked perplexed. "Go!" Iris shouted, pushing Barry toward the door. "Should we come?"

He shook his head as he clamored toward the door. "No, I don't know what's going on yet," he said. "I'll call you as soon as I do."

Barry threw open the door, fumbled it shut, and blasted away.

He only hoped the superspeeded exit hadn't been audible from the dining table where Wally still sat. Or the lightning visible through the front windows. Or ... nevermind, he had friends to help, let Joe and Iris deal with Wally.

"What just happened?" Wally asked. "He's a CSI, what could possibly require him to book out of here like a crazy person - but _not_ require Joe's presence, as an actual, you know, _cop_?"

Iris and Joe weren't sure what to say. It wasn't like they could explain it without explaining that Barry was the Flash. Wally was right, there was no _real_ reason a CSI would have to book out in the middle of the evening and one of the CCPD's senior detectives wouldn't have been summoned as well.

"Look, I know I'm new to the family," Wally said, "but I feel like a fourth wheel here. Like I am missing something, frankly, huge, and I'm not sure I want to deal with it. I moved around a lot with my mom, and I know what it's like when people are hiding things from you and talking behind your back. I felt that tonight. I feel that all the time I'm with the three of you." Standing, he pulled his jacket from the back of the chair. "When you're ready to let me into the family - _all the way into the family_ \- you know where to reach me."

Joe was frozen to the spot. Wally was going to walk out of his life, so soon after walking into it. He couldn't lose his son. "Wally wait!" He surged forward. "I'm sorry, you're right, we _are_ keeping something from you. But it's for your own safety, not because you aren't important to us."

Iris wisely stayed quiet.

"My safety?" Wally echoed. "Unless you're into some kind of crazy scheme, or the Russian mob, or ... or evil metahumans, I don't see what could possibly be so dangerous that you couldn't even _tell me_ about it. It's not like I'm asking to participate."

Joe swallowed. "It's not my secret to tell," he said, nearly too quietly to hear.

"Then it's Barry's?" Wally asked.

Joe only nodded.

"Right, well, Barry doesn't like me, so I can see why he wouldn't want to tell me," he said, turning and pulling his coat over his shoulders. Iris stepped in and grabbed the arm before he could finish.

"No, that's not true," she said. "Barry wanted to tell you tonight."

Wally halted at that. "Really?"

He didn't sound convinced.

Joe slumped into the nearby table. "It's true, he did want to," he said. "I told him no. You heard me tell them both no."

Wally hadn't turned around. "I can't do this," he said. "I can't be the odd man out in this family. I mean, I _already am_ , seeing as I didn't grow up with you. I can't handle being left out even more."

His exit was soon interrupted by something Joe and Iris had hoped to never seen again.

There was a sudden flash of blue lightning and a figure appeared in the West living room, the lightning crackling ominously along his black suit and casting an eerie glow around the room. Wally was frozen in the middle of the living room, mere feet from the speedster that Iris and Joe were staring at in horror.

"Z ... Z ... Zoom? He was ... the breach?" Joe stuttered.

There was another blast of wind and lightning and the Flash stood between Wally, Joe and Iris, panting lighting after his desperate attempt to keep up with Zoom. Zoom who _shouldn't even be on this earth_.

"Still not fast enough, Flash." Zoom's gravelly words floated across the room. "You _know_ you can't stop me. You have _no choice_." He pointed at the three behind the Flash. "If you don't come with me, I'll kill all of them before you can even _move_ to intercept me. And you _know_ I can do it."

The Flash was nearly _vibrating_ with anger. Wally wanted to move further away, but he dared not move. Why was this madman targeting Joe's family? Did they know the Flash? Sure, he was a hero and he saved people, but this seemed a lot more _personal_.

"Leave them alone," came the Flash's response, an odd oscillating sound to the voice surprising Wally. It was as if the Flash was disguising his voice. Maybe it was distinctive? "I'll do whatever you want."

Joe and Iris both chose that moment to erupt into shouts.

"No!"

"You can't!"

"He'll kill you!"

Zoom laughed. "I'll kill him _anyway_ ," he said, blurring until he stood nearly against the Flash. "But, if he comes willingly, I'll leave you be."

Joe was shaking and Iris was holding him back. "No," the older man said. " _No_. You can't have him!"

Inside the suit, Barry was shaking with anger and fear. Not for himself, but for his family. Even if he went with Zoom and they were spared, this would _kill_ them just the same. Maybe not physically, but Joe, at the very least, would never forgive himself.

If only he could _fight_ Zoom. Or protect the ones he loved from the speedster until he could.

"I'm not fast enough yet," he finally said. "Give me more time. It's not like I can run and hide from you. Give me more time to get faster. We ... we know about you. How you're sick. My speed alone won't cure you. But ... give us time."

He knew it was a long shot, appealing to Zoom this way. The speedster could just take what he wanted right now. Go snatch Harry and drag them both away. Barry didn't know how he had gotten back to Earth 1, but somehow he had. He _was_ fast enough to blast his own hole into time and space. Maybe he had.

"Tempting," Zoom said slowly. "I could take you whenever I please. You can't stop me."

Barry was shocked it was even being contemplated. He tensed when Zoom leaned in, his hot breath on Barry's neck. Next to his ear. "Get faster, Flash. And get your lackeys to perfect V9. You have one month."

Barry thought that would be it.

He should have known better.

Pain erupted in his side from where Zoom's hand pierced it. Barry jerked and automatically grabbed the offending appendage to try and pull it free - or steady it - or both.

He grunted as Zoom suddenly disappeared, blasting the door off its hinges as he exited. His hand, which had been on Zoom a moment ago, fastened itself to his side now, feeling blood begin to pour from the wound.

The Flash was suddenly surrounded by Joe and Iris. "Oh my god, oh my god," Iris was saying, as Joe was reaching forward to pull the hand from his side to get a look at the wound.

"How bad is it? Bear, how bad?"

They had completely forgotten their fourth wheel.

"Bear? ... Barry?"

All three turned, Barry barely daring to breathe, to face Wally.

"Barry Allen?"

Barry swallowed. There was no sense hiding it now. He reached a shaking hand up and dragged the hood from his head, revealing his face and tousled hair.

"Hi Wally."

* * *

 _A/N: And ... let's leave it there for now. I have maybe another Chapter in here, I didn't intend to make it a whole episode or long fic (unless I get reviews galore begging for it!). But this will need wrapping up. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Not mine! Just for fun!_

 _ **To all my reviewers**_ _: Thank you SO much for commenting. It's truly an inspiration to get feedback. And to the guest with all the suggestions - thank you! Even if I don't use all suggestions, I DO use some, so feel free to keep them coming!_

* * *

Chapter 3

Wally was staring at Barry standing feet away from him in the Flash suit, clutching a bleeding wound in his side and shaking just enough to be noticeable. He couldn't speak. Couldn't hardly think. _This_ was the secret? This was ... huge.

"I ..."

He trailed off. Nope, he couldn't speak. He had no idea where to begin.

Barry swayed then, and he might have fallen if Joe hadn't grabbed him by the biceps from behind and held him up. "Barry, we've got to get you back to S.T.A.R. Labs," the man said, choosing to let Wally try to grasp the revelation on his own. "Caitlin needs to look at you."

The younger man shook his head lightly. "Yeah, I can't make it there, Joe," he said. "I'm too dizzy." He gently pried Joe's hands off his arms and swallowed against the pain in his side. "I need to sit down."

Joe gestured at the suit. "Get this off?"

Barry wearily nodded and disappeared in a flash of lightning, only to reappear moments later wearing sweatpants, socks and holding a sweatshirt. His side was a mess of blood and he wobbled and would have fallen if Joe hadn't grabbed hold of him again.

"Whoa, sit," Joe said, steering Barry backward.

Wally was staring at Barry like the other man was the most interesting car engine on the planet. "He's … _fast_ ," he said faintly. The words drew everyone's gaze to the youngest West. "Sorry," Wally said, backing up and slumping into a dining room chair. "I … _geez_."

Barry cringed as Joe pulled a dish towel from the nearby laundry basket, pressing it against Barry's bleeding side. The younger man jerked away and tried to disappear back into the couch. Joe's muttered apology broke the silence that had fallen.

Barry turned his gaze to Iris. "Call Caitlin," he said. "I'm worried about them. And … I'm going to need her help."

The phone was already in Iris' hand and she was turning away to move into the kitchen. "Caitlin! Thank God you're OK! Yeah, Barry and Zoom showed up here. Zoom actually _left_ and gave Barry time. I know … I was so surprised. You need to get here, Barry's hurt. Yeah, he stabbed him! No, with his … hand." She paused. "Yes, again. Yes, the same general area. No … he can't run, he said he's dizzy ..." her voice trailed off as Iris got too far from the room for the others to hear her words.

Wally turned his attention back to Barry and Joe. "Again ..." he stood suddenly. "Oh my God, that video! From CCPN! That was _you_!"

Barry frowned. "Sorry, what?"

The younger man started pacing. "That … that … _thing_ dragged the Flash into the news office. Someone rolled video. I _saw_ that on the news for days afterward. Geez that was _you_ , Barry!" He looked at the pained expression and the blood. "My big brother is the Flash …" he muttered.

Barry swallowed. "Yeah," he whispered. "Some superhero. I'm powerless against Zoom. He took me apart that time, and this time I couldn't do a thing to stop him. Again."

Joe's face tightened. "It's not your fault, Bear," he said. "This Zoom isn't some run-of-the-mill metahuman or criminal. We'll find a way to beat him. We _will_. This isn't all on you."

From across the room, Wally suddenly realized that he had called the Flash a coward and he hadn't even called him on it. He had just _stood_ there, leaning heavily on the banister. He had just looked at him with pain in his eyes, but hadn't in any way tried to contradict him.

Barry actually _believed_ he _was_ a coward.

Wally had to sit down again. This time he slipped onto the couch beside the other young man. "I have no idea how I could be _so wrong_ about you, Barry," he said. Barry shifted, sucking in a breath in pain. He said nothing.

Joe watched the two younger men silently. He wasn't going to intervene. This was between Barry and Wally. Barry waved Joe away and took hold of the towel pressed to his side. Joe retreated into the kitchen with Iris, leaving Barry and Wally alone in the living room.

"Look Wally," Barry said, wincing as he tried to twist to face the younger man. "I understand you feel like the odd man out in this family. I never intended to make you feel that way. I've been through some really rough times in the last few months and I just didn't know how to act around you."

He closed his eyes and bit his lip as a wave of pain surged through his side.

Wally grew concerned at the loss of color in Barry's face. He hesitantly reached a hand out and tapped Barry's leg. The latter's eyes flew open and he jerked in surprise. "Sorry," he muttered. "I think I need to go one further and lay down. I'm feeling pretty awful."

Seeing as no one else was in the room, Wally stood and helped Barry lay back against the couch cushions. The towel was saturated with Barry's blood and Wally realized the other man was going to lose consciousness if they didn't slow the bleeding soon.

"Barry?" He said. "You're not putting enough pressure on that wound."

Bleary eyes looked back up at him. "Help me?"

Wally swallowed. "OK," he muttered, leaning over the side of the couch to find another towel to add to Barry's soaked one. He knew better than to remove the first. With only a second's hesitation, he pressed it on top of the one and exerted more pressure than Barry had been.

His new brother cried out sharply, but cut it off just as fast. It was nearly enough for Wally to let go, but he knew this was necessary. He had been a volunteer at the local ambulance squad and had a basic understanding of first aid.

Joe and Iris returned to the room then, probably drawn by the cry.

"How is he?" Iris asked, kneeling at the couch side near Barry's head. She brushed his tousled hair back from his forehead. Barry moaned a little and his eyes fluttered open.

Wally frowned. "Losing blood pretty fast," he said. "I don't know if putting pressure on his side will be enough. He's going to need more advanced care. This is the best I can do, unless you have IV equipment and fluids laying around the house!"

Joe and Iris shook their head. "No, but Caitlin, Cisco and Harry are on their way now. They'll bring what we need. And Barry heals very fast. We just need to stabilize him so that his rapid healing ability can take over."

Wally nodded. "OK, well, do you want to take over?"

Joe shook his head. "You're doing fine," he said. "I don't want to jar him."

The younger man nodded. "Right."

Silence descended on the room. The only thing that broke it was pained and labored breathing coming from Barry on the couch and the occasional passing vehicle on the road out front – which was louder than usual because of the lack of front door.

* * *

 _Earlier at S.T.A.R. Labs …_

Cisco, Caitlin and Harry were shocked when Zoom materialized in the middle of the cortex in a burst of blue lightning. But not so surprised that they didn't fire off emergency beacons to Barry in rapid succession – Cisco keying the phone below the computer table, Harry the phone in his jacket pocket, and Caitlin the one on the med bay work station.

Zoom scanned the room, but paid them no mind. He was searching for one man – Barry Allen. And Barry Allen soon came to a skidding halt in front of the computer bank. He backpedaled when he saw who was in the room.

"You _can't_ be here," he said. "We closed the breaches!"

The four could picture Zoom's smile, even though it was hidden behind his hideous mask. "I'm the fastest man alive," he said. "If _you_ could open a breach, what makes you think I _couldn't_?" He leaned close to Barry. "I'm not done with you, Flash. I _will_ take your speed. You just need a little … _incentive_."

He disappeared and Barry wasted no time, despite his friends' protests, tearing off after him.

Toward the West home.

* * *

 _Present time back at the West home …_

Barry was sleeping, exhausted, and Wally had kept up the pressure on his side. Iris and Joe had taken to pacing, counting the minutes. "They should be here now!" Joe said, reaching the door again and peering out it. "What's taking so long?"

Iris settled a hand on his shoulder. "They had to gather supplies for Barry, Dad," she said. "They'll be here. And Barry is doing OK. It looks like the bleeding has slowed, or stopped, and he is breathing easier and resting."

The older man turned his head to take in his two sons. Iris was right. Barry _did_ look better.

"OK, yeah, you're right," he said, rubbing a hand over his head and turning away from the door.

He spun back around at the sound of squealing tires. Team Flash had arrived!

"Thank goodness," he said, rushing out to help Caitlin, Cisco and Harry with the medical supplies Caitlin had brought along.

"How bad?" the latter asked the detective.

Joe lead her to the couch. She did a double-take seeing Wally on the couch, holding a bloody towel against Barry's side. "Uhm, hi," she said. "Uhm. Is that his only wound?"

The young man nodded, not letting up on the towel. "Yes," Wally said. "He bled through the first towel, so I added a second and increased the pressure. It seems like it slowed or stopped bleeding. But Joe said something about rapid healing, so maybe that has something to do with it."

Caitlin nodded. "Yes, he does heal fast. I wouldn't be surprised if it was already healing internally. Which means I had better get to work making sure it's cleaned of all fabric debris. Can you pull that away slowly, or would you prefer if I did it?"

The young man shrugged lightly. "I worked on an ambulance squad for a while, it doesn't bother me." He slowed lessened the pressure and pulled the first towel off the wound. He allowed Caitlin to move in, hands gloved. To his surprise, she held out another set of gloves. "Me?"

Looking to the others, she smiled gently. "If you don't mind, it seems like you've some training and you have a steady hand. You don't have to, I'll get Cisco to help..."

"No, it's fine." Wally said quickly, determined to do something for Barry after he'd insulted him so unfairly the other day. He took the gloves with a glance to Joe, who nodded in agreement.

Cisco, who usually helped Caitlin tend to Barry, suddenly found himself with nothing medical to do. That was fine with him, since seeing Barry hurt was something he hated. It always made him feel useless, since he had no real medical training. He would much rather brainstorm how Zoom had created a new portal alongside Harry. That was more up his alley.

The room grew quiet again as Caitlin and Wally worked to pull the towel away from Barry's side, cringing as it stuck to partially dried blood and the young speedster began to return to consciousness at the increased pain.

"Easy, Barry," Caitlin said, still pulling at the towel and drawing new blood from the wound. "We need to get this off and clean the wound before you heal around it."

Barry came to completely and met Caitlin's eyes blearily. "Right, yeah," he said, gripping the couch at his sides. "That … stings."

He was being nice. It hurt like mad.

Caitlin grimaced as the towel came away completely. But she was in doctor mode and was soon instructing Wally on what she wanted him to do while she set to inserting an IV and hanging fluids from a portable IV pole.

While he worked helping Caitlin clean the wound, Wally thought back to the night he had called Barry a coward. He came to a realization. "What an idiot," he muttered. Barry frowned up at him, not understanding. When Wally realized he had been overheard, he backpedaled. "Sorry. I mean me," he said. "The other night. When sharkman-in-pants attacked. I was just realizing what must have _really_ happened."

Barry seemed to cringe and wince less while listening, so Caitlin nudged Wally and pointedly gestured with her eyes for him to continue speaking and distracting their patient. Wally was happy to oblige.

"I assumed you were hiding away upstairs. I should have realized you weren't actually up there," he said. "I mean – I was there, Joe was there, Iris was there. You weren't. And when you did come down, you were favoring your left side." He looked at Barry. "Got knocked around a bit?"

Barry nodded. "A bit," he said. "Tends to happen with half-ton sharks flinging you into cars and all."

Wally shook his head in amazement. "You say that like it's a regular occurrence." At the sheepish look on Barry's face, his eyes widened. "OK, so then it _is_ somewhat regular. Wow, Barry, do you have any sense of self-preservation?"

The speedster frowned. "Apparently very little."

"I'll say ..." Caitlin added under her breath. She dug a little deeper than she had been and drew a hard wince from Barry, who had the couch cushion gripped so tightly that his fist was white-knuckled. "Sorry. I'm done. That's all of it."

Barry sank into the couch as she backed away for a moment to prepare some steri-strips. She didn't think stitching the wound was necessary – Barry would be fully healed in a few hours anyway and she'd just have to remove them again.

Once she had set the strips in place and Wally had helped wrap the bandage around Barry, the atmosphere in the room lightened considerably. Wally sat back on his heels and contemplated the other occupants of the room.

"So … is now a good time to ask someone to fill me in on what's going on?"

* * *

 _A/N: Ok, so I'm all right with this chapter, but not overjoyed. I used a bit of reviewer suggestions, but not all. I have to admit I like nice Wally, so that's the angle this story will feature. He acted a bit like a jerk in the show, but … I'm fixing that with this. Hope you enjoyed! There should be more … once I figure out what to write._


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: OK, so this story kind of got away from me and fizzled a bit. I'm not entirely sure where to go with it. Hope this is worth the wait!_**

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

Barry heard the conversation around him before he was fully conscious. As he roused, he moved – and as he moved, he was suddenly _very_ aware of the pain in his side. With a wince, he forced his eyes open and blinked against the light from the end table by his head.

At the table in the other room sat Iris, Joe, Cisco, Caitlin, Harry … and Wally. He had momentarily forgotten that Wally had been present when everything had gone down over the last few … hours? Days? How long had he been out of commission?

He tried to sit up and that drew a pained grunt and hiss from his lips. Enough to alert the ever-vigilant doctor side of Caitlin, who twisted in her seat and locked her gaze on Barry. She smiled and stood, "You're awake!" She said, drawing everyone's attention toward Barry, who managed a small grimace and nod. "I was getting a little worried. You've been out for a few hours. Usually you heal faster than that."

Barry frowned. "I'm OK, Caitlin," he said, tentatively moving and twisting to test out his range of mostly-painfree-motion. "I think I had just been sleeping badly and it all caught up to me." He paused when she reached him and began to pull his T-shirt hem up. "Hey … uhm ..."

She tutted. "Really Barry, it's not like everyone in this room hasn't already seen you shirtless," she said with a chuckle. Barry didn't respond, just turned a light shade of red as he stopped his protest and let her pull the shirt up to reveal the bandage.

Soon she had that unraveled, too.

The wound was well on its way to healed. And like his other wounds, it wouldn't scar. Soon, the skin would be completely unblemished, leaving no evidence he'd ever been wounded.

"That's amazing."

Barry's head snapped up to find Wally had somehow stood and approached without him noticing. He was looking at the healing stab wound with wide eyes and a stunned expression. Caitlin smiled up at him. "I told you he healed quickly," she said, leaving the bandages off and pulling Barry's shirt back down. "In a few more hours, there will be nothing there at all."

Wally nodded and then looked to Barry. He didn't know what to say to the other young man. For the last few hours, the others had been filling him in on their trials and tribulations, on how Barry had become the Flash, what metahumans they had faced, the old Harrison Wells and the trip to Earth-2 to save Jessie.

He was hard-pressed to absorb it all.

No wonder Barry seemed off to him! He was preoccupied with saving the city!

" _So_ …" Barry said. "What'd I miss?"

He gingerly stood, stretching as much as his side would allow, then walked across the room to plop down in a chair beside the table with everyone else. Wally and Caitlin followed.

"Just catching Wally up," Joe said, studying Barry's face to see if that bothered the younger man. When it didn't appear to, he continued, "But we were waiting for you to wake up so we could discuss what to do about Zoom."

Barry's faced morphed into a heavy frown at the mention of his nemesis. "I don't _know_ what to do about him," Barry said, picking at the edge of the table with a fingernail. "I was so surprised to see him back here after we closed all the breaches. I don't know _why_ it didn't dawn on me he could open breaches … I mean, I was the one who caused them all to open the first time and he's a speedster like me. It shouldn't have been such a difficult leap in logic!"

Harry shook his head. "You couldn't have known, Barry," he said. "You're fast, but you're not omniscient. Nevermind _how_ he created one, the question now is _where_ is it and how to do we stop him. We know we can't face him head-on, it never ends well for you."

"Yeh, I don't fancy getting my back broken again," the young speedster muttered. "But there has to be _something_ we can do to stop him." His head snapped up. "What about that man? In the mask? In Zoom's lair. There has to be a reason he's being held captive. Maybe _he_ could help us?"

Truth be told, as soon as Barry had had a second to think straight after his encounter with Zoom his mind had shifted to the man in the mask. He had promised he would return for the man, and it had been eating away at him that he had not kept that promise. It was part of the reason he hadn't been sleeping well lately.

"No," Joe said, raising a hand. "No, no, no. You can't go back to Earth-2. That's Zoom's territory, it's too dangerous."

Barry shook his head. "More dangerous how?" he said, looking around the table. "Zoom can zip to Earth-1 whenever he pleases. It's not like I'm in any more danger there then I am here." He gestured to his side and then dropped his hands back on the table in exasperation. "I _told_ that man I'd come back for him, Joe. And I haven't. He's _still_ a prisoner."

"I don't like it, Barry," Joe said. "Last time you went to Earth-2, you were captured by that madman."

"I know, Joe," Barry said. "But he had help. Reverb and Deathstorm won't be there this time, and I expect there is a good chance that Killer Frost is … dead. I know there are other metahumans, but I don't know what _else_ to try. Zoom will be back and he won't take, 'Give me more time, please' for an answer again."

Joe leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. "I know." He looked around the table. "But we're getting ahead of ourselves. We don't know where this breach is. How closely Zoom might be monitoring it. What if we go through it and he's standing on the other side? Then what?"

"We can't use _his_ breach," Harry said. "We know that Zoom created it because he's a speedster, right? Then why can't we recreate the event that caused the breaches in the first place?"

"Because ..." Cisco said slowly. " _Last time_ we caused a black hole that nearly destroyed all of Central City."

Harry frowned. "Oh. Well. Yes, we can't do _that_ again, then."

Running a hand through his hair, Barry shook his head. "No, we can't. I think the only way we can travel to Earth-2 is to use Zoom's breach. I can't imagine he just hangs out around the other end of it. He's busy … terrorizing a city, remember?"

"How many people can you bring through the breach?" Iris asked, derailing the topic of whether the breach was monitored.

Barry looked at her. "As many as I want," he said. "I'd just have to go back and forth, since I can only pull two people through at a time." He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Because there is _no way_ you are going back there alone, Barry," she said, looking around the table. "We're coming with you."

A half dozen voices sounded with varying levels of "no" to Iris' words.

"It's _way_ too dangerous," Barry said over the din.

"You took Cisco last time, he's fine. And you got Jessie and Harry back," Iris persisted. "You can't do this alone Barry. We learned the hard way what happens when you try. You _need_ your friends and like you pointed out, no one is any safer here than they are over there. Zoom could come and kill us all while you are on Earth-2."

Barry deflated. She was right. If he traveled to Earth-2, Zoom could travel here and take out everyone he loved. It was probably better that he kept them in his sight. Which meant taking them to Earth-2 with him.

He had a few allies on Earth-2 – his doppleganger and Iris'. But they wouldn't be enough. _This_ team was well versed in helping him take down metahumans and would be invaluable to him on Earth-2 trying to save the man in the mask and maybe find the key to stopping Zoom.

"Ok," he said. "Ok, I agree, bringing the whole team over would be helpful."

There was only one head that didn't nod.

"This is a _bit_ too much," Wally said quietly. "I just found out my brother is the Flash. And _now_ you're all talking about going through some _hole_ to another _world_ and fighting some insane speedster who, according to all of your past experiences, is more than a match for Barry. This is … too much."

He pushed his chair back and stood. "I'll keep it all a secret, obviously," he said. "But … I … it's too much." Wally made for the door. Barry jumped up and gestured for the others to stay.

"Wally, wait!" He reached the door at the same time as the younger man and followed him out onto the stoop. "I know, it's a lot," he continued. "But it would be safer for you, if you came with us. Zoom has seen you and if he comes here looking for me when I'm on Earth-2, he will stop at _nothing_ and _no one_ I know will be safe from him. I … God, Wally … if anything happened to you because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself. Please … come with us."

Wally was frozen to the spot. He hadn't really thought this Zoom fellow would pay him any mind. But Barry seemed sure he would be a target if the speedster returned and found no one from Team Flash to torment. And truth be told, he was petrified of the man after what he'd seen him do to Barry.

"Barry," he said faintly. "You want to drag me through some worm hole thing to another Earth. Do you _realize_ how insane that sounds? It was crazy enough finding out you're the Flash. But this is so much more than crazy, I can barely wrap my head around it!"

"I know," Barry said, wanting to reach out and take Wally by the shoulders, but not doing so. He wasn't that close to the younger man and didn't know if that was a liberty he could take. He did it without thought with the others, but Wally was a wildcard. "And I'm sorry it's all happening so fast. Hazard of knowing a speedster."

That drew a small grin from Wally, which in turn put one on Barry's face. "Look, Iris and Caitlin, they usually don't do the dangerous field work either. But Zoom is the most dangerous man we've ever faced and I don't want to leave anyone at his mercy. That means taking you with us. You're a part of this now, Wally. More than just a part of the family – a part of the team. And … honestly? I was hoping if you came you could help keep Iris out of trouble. Joe will be divided between us, and I'd love to have an extra set of eyes on her since he'll be torn."

Wally swallowed. It made sense. It really did.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but … OK," Wally turned back toward the house. "I'll do it. But not because you are afraid that _thing_ will come back while you're gone. I'll do it because I don't want to lose my family now that I've found them. That includes you, Barry."

The speedster smiled and pulled Wally into one of his famous hugs. "Thank you, Wally," he said, steering him by the shoulders back toward the door and into the house. The others were pacing around the living and dining rooms, and it looked like Joe had been about to bolt from the house to chase Wally himself. He visibly slumped in relief when he saw both his boys reenter the home.

"Wally," he said, hurrying over. "I'm so sorry about all this craziness, but we can't leave you here alone – defenseless."

The young man raised a quelling hand. "I know, Joe," he said. "I've already agreed to come with you guys. Barry had a sound argument."

Joe glanced over his son's shoulder to Barry. He nodded lightly in thanks, and then drew Wally back into the dining room and sat him down for a one-on-one, father-son chat. He knew it was a lot for the young man to take in, and he gave him a chance to vent it all and ask any questions he had.

Meanwhile, the others piled into the S.T.A.R. Labs van, and with Barry speeding along ahead, they began the trek back to the lab to start the search for Zoom's breach. Joe and Wally would follow in Joe's patrol car once Wally had asked any and all questions he might have about the upcoming trip.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry this is so short. I've been super busy and have a slew of medical appointments to get through. I'm hoping to update again … pretty soon. Seems there isn't as much interest in the story as there had been, anyway. Til next time!**_


End file.
